


The Sight Beyond the Blue Sky

by Sternstunde



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Fluff, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Silly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25174039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sternstunde/pseuds/Sternstunde
Summary: Things turn out quite differently than they should, leaving Sakata Gintoki and Abuto with the wrong Yato sibling to babysit.-Role-Reversal AU with Kamui and Kagura.
Relationships: Abuto & Kagura (Gintama), Abuto & Kamui (Gintama), Kagura & Kamui, Kamui & Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 12
Kudos: 76





	1. You adopt a brat by driving it over.

It's a known fact, that the smiling newest addition of the 7th division from the Harusame isn't well-received by the members of the other divisions. The hostility undeniably lingers in the air, its foul scent leaving quite a bitter taste in people's mouths, to the point that some of the toughest looking members crack under that intangible pressure and break down. How many men have been dropped off on some wasteland planet, unable to properly form coherent thoughts? It's been quite too many, a shocking and displeasing revelation showcasing the amount of weak-minded Harusame members. 

And all of that nauseating enmity is directed at the youngest member of the Harusame.

What Abuto considers more unnerving though, is the boy's calm demeanor in that very situation. Even as weeks pass and the sneering gets louder and the rumours spread faster, that seemingly innocent smile continues to rest on the child's face.

It doesn't bode well with Abuto. He sees no reason to let envy and pettiness take over one's mind and it's outright pathetic that it all is directed at a child.

(And perhaps that way of thinking sets a cog into time's working.)

Months later as they visit Earth, Kamui wanders off with a simple, "I'm going to look around for a bit."

He doesn't return and Abuto is tasked with finding him. 

He comes back, hours later, without the child. The 7th division does seem a little bit concerned but the rest of the Harusame, upon receiving the information, rejoice.

What they never find out is that Abuto knows very well where Kamui is.

* * *

A new day starts.

He's awakened by the old lady's useless yelling. He doesn't mind it too much though, she's at  _ that _ age after all. He lies awake in his futon for a while before the carving sets in and he finally stands up to make his way to the fridge. 

It is Tuesday, exhausting and irritating. Sakata Gintoki needs one thing to survive the day and his fridge is devoid of it.

Strawberry milk.

Tiredly, he dresses himself and starts up his scooter, so he can drive to the nearest grocery store. He's a man on a mission and he cannot allow himself to rest without the sweet taste of strawberry milk.

He's steadily getting closer to his target and the thrilling feeling of anticipation fills him, coursing through his vines and setting everything aflame—he runs a brat over.

The street is empty and so is his stomach as he stops his scooter and glances back at the unmoving body. 

_ Fuck. Shit. Hell. _

Forget strawberry milk, he is in desperate need of something completely different. What is he going to do? 

_ A time machine! Exactly, if he has a time machine he can just undo this! _

In the midst of his panicking, the child slowly sits up, tightly grabbing his parasol as he stares at the human responsible for his headache. Then he lifts his parasol.

And shoots.

Gintoki barely evades the bullet and settles his bewildered gaze upon the small boy.

"W-Well. Sorry about that. You… seem fine, so I'll be going... now."

And _ now  _ he means.

He starts up the scooter and drives away, followed by the sound of shooting. Worried, he glances behind and annoyance feels him at the sight.

The kid is chasing him, keeping up relatively well with the scooter as he continues to fire bullet after bullet.

Why is this happening to him? Which God did he piss off now? He just wants some strawberry milk! Not a crazy brat trying to gun him down with an umbrella! And is the brat smiling at him? 

"Don't trust the smiling ones," he whispers, remembering Otose's words from a few weeks before.  _ God _ .

Suddenly, his scooter comes abruptly to a halt and he has to grip tightly on the handles, so he doesn't fly off.

"Don't you know? It's quite impolite to leave injured people laying on the street."

Gintoki gulps before he turns his head.

Blue eyes and a sweet smile greet him.

"Especially if you were the one to injure them."

How does he always end up in situations like this?

"You… you don't really look injured to me?" He decides to point out, unsure if this is going to escalate into a fight. He can't read that boy well.

"Of course, something as small as that could never take me out."

Getting driven over by a scooter is apparently something small now.

"We, then… we should be fine?"

The boy shakes his head, that damn smile still resting on his face.

"Getting driven over was very annoying though."

Gintoki moves his body to the left just in time. The boy almost stabbed him with his umbrella.

"Fast reflexes, so I wasn't wrong. You're going to be a fun fight."

"Does there have to be a fight? Isn't it a bit too hot for that?"

As he says those words, he decides that it's time to get down from the scooter and make a run for it. Unfortunately, the boy is very keen on fighting him and keeps up.

"It's more fun like this," the brat tells him and Gintoki understands that he's not getting out of this. It's going to end up if he tries to escape.

Holding his wooden sword up, he faces the boy.

"It really isn't. I'm running late."

"Oh? I am keeping you from attending something?"

"Yes, my afternoon nap."

Their weapons clash.

* * *

When Abuto finally finds the brat, surprise hits him.

Kamui's all beaten up, sitting beside a white-haired man who is holding a whole carton of strawberry milk, eating a pork bun.

The kid continues to ignore him in favour of the food but the man looks up and glances at him.

"Oi, is that your brat? He's a real pest."

Abuto sighs. "That's no one's brat."

Then he faces the boy.

"We should heed back. The commander's waiting."

The boy finishes the bun before looking at him with that familiar smile of his.

"Hmm… I don't want to."

That's gotta be a joke, right?

"I want to continue fighting him. He's very strong for a human."

It's only then that Abuto realizes how the boy got his wounds.

"I keep telling you, it's Gintoki, dammit. Also, we just fought for a good few hours! Aren't you tired at all?! You should just go home!"

"I don't want to. It's more fun fighting you."

"Seriously, just go home. You're being a bother—"

The stranger shuts up, moving out of the way of one of Kamui's punches. As Abuto watches them, a thought enters his mind, changing his whole view on the situation.

(And the cogs keep turning.)

"Samurai," he calls out, knowing very well what that human is, and the man looks up. "I'm leaving him in your care then."

The man's eyes widen as he abruptly sits up. "Oi, that gotta be a joke, right? There's no w..."

Abuto blends his voice out as he starts to walk. Then he stops for a moment and glances at Kamui.

"Do try to behave, won't you?"

And he continues his way, not bothering to listen to the reply, although the human's yelling is quite loud.

Housen might just kill him for this one.

_ Ah _ , he sighs, exhausted by the turn of events,  _ kids just really don't belong in places like the Harusame. _

* * *

Months later past an irritated Housen, they stumble upon a worn-down pirate ship, reeking of blood and rotting corpses.

In the midst of the complete destruction, sits a tiny girl with bright vermilion hair which is cut messily. Her bright, azure-colored eyes stare at them and Abuto knows he's seen those eyes somewhere before.

"Brat," Housen speaks up, "is this your doing?"

The girl lowers her face, tears building up at the corner of her eyes, and nods hesitatingly.

As Abuto catches sight of Housen's smirk, he realises that he's about to experience his second round of babysitting.

In that moment, he remembers where he's seen those azure eyes before.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. A new haircut can symbolize new-found values.

_"Yato don't want to be the strongest in the universe."_

* * *

Kagura.

That's the little girl's name. She belongs to the Yato race as well and he realizes that it adds up. Abuto does remember the little encounter with Kamui before the boy joined the Harusame.

The little girl lying unconscious in the ground and the almost feral glint in the boy's eyes. 

Abuto does remember that even Kamui, who loved to provoke people into fights and liked to create bloodbaths despite his young age, once had a goal behind that thirst to fight.

_"I want to be the strongest."_

Even now, he can't help but wonder what those words mean for that boy. He's never been able to read him well.

As time passes, Abuto also comes to realize that Kagura is the complete opposite of Kamui.

She curls into herself and cries often, cowers under Housen's stern gazes, and barely fights back in spars, making her seem rather meek and useless.

She has potential though.

He's seen the sunken ship they have found her in. Filled with corpses of men twice her size.

Housen has seen it too, which is why he won't let her leave. At least not alive. As much as Abuto would prefer it, he won't be able to help her escape—his commander would not take kindly to it. Losing one potentially strong brat? Moronic but alright. Losing a second potentially strong brat? A call for death. 

So, he needs to make sure that Kagura will survive whatever hell training that man will put her through.

That she will survive to be a part of the 7th division of the Harusame.

It would be quite unfortunate to see more of his race die.

* * *

Kagura's crouching in the corner of the room that has been given to her. She's the only occupant of it, being the only female in the 7th division's quarters.

The girl keeps undoing and redoing the little side braid of her hair. It's a little messy but it still fits her. Although he can tell she's weirded out about how her hair is short now. 

They had to give her a haircut, considering her hair was terribly chopped off at one side and overall dirtied with dried blood, specks of mud and ash. She cried about it, so he made sure to only cut the back of her hair and trim the left side of her bangs. The right side of her bangs was longer and as he wanted to cut it as well she protested.

Instead, she braided the right side.

 _"Why braid it?"_ He had asked her, amused by her actions.

_"Because everyone in my family braided their hair."_

Braided.

As in past tense.

He thinks about Kamui's long braid, which he always neatly wore and had redone when he messed it up.

It was the first time Abuto wondered if Kagura even knew that her brother was alive.

"Old man," she mumbles, "what are you thinking about?"

The first time she called Housen an old man, he punched her head through a wall and after that she never tried again. Instead, she turned to Abuto who let her get away with it.

_"I'm getting older every day after all."_

(It’s not because she sounds more like a child with no worries like that.)

He doesn't ponder too long on his answer. Her impatience is visible through the way she's biting her lips, drawing blood. A bad habit. She should get rid of it.

"Why don't you fight back?"

He makes sure that his voice sounds neutral. It's not an accusation, after all. He's merely curious how Kamui's sister out of a people seems to refuse to fight.

"... I don't like f-fighting."

It's a half-truth, he can tell by her tone. A part of her must detest it. Another must naturally love it.

"Oh, what a surprise," he responds, amusement lacing his tone, "The Yato race loves to fight after all."

That's an understatement.

They _live_ to fight, after all.

And—she narrows her eyes at him and he's a bit surprised. She's been very meek so far.

Their conversation ends there though because she's called in to train.

* * *

_Time starts to pass differently after a while._

_It's a realization Kagura makes the first few weeks after her mother's death._

_Her father doesn't stay too long. The day after the funeral he packs his usual bag and leaves—it's the first time Kagura understands that he's terrible at being a father. Unlike Kamui, she excused his absence in their lives for their mother's medicine as long as she could._

_Now their mother is dead and he's still leaving._

_It's not a bitter feeling at first. She's sad and often she wakes up sobbing, wishing for her mother to be there. But she’s alive, so she gets up and tries to go about her day. There isn’t much a child can do but she learns._

_The folk labels her a forgotten child because her father never comes home and at some point, he seems to fully forget she exists because even the change of money he would send her doesn’t arrive anymore. Kagura’s not bitter about it though. By that time, all hopes on her father are gone, because the truth is, he’s never been home enough for her to have expectations of him. Kamui is another case._

_She sees the flowers on their mother’s grave. A part of her is relieved that he still cherishes their mother enough to leave her flowers._

_Another, more childish part, relishes in the sour taste at the tip of her tongue and the bitterness building up. The other folk labels her a forgotten child and she accepts the title without protest._

_At some point, she starts wishing for Kamui or their father to come back anyway._

_That's when the loneliness kicks in._

_She loses count of everything from time to her feelings. They are a fumbled sort of a mess at that point and people avoid her and no one comes home except her and she's lonely._

_That's probably why it is so easy for the strangers to approach her and take her away ( kidnap her, Abuto corrects her later) without her making too much of a fuss._

_It all goes wrong when she doesn't want to move but one man tugs at her hair roughly and slaps her for sobbing and then they start screaming and Kagura tries to escape and of course, it doesn’t work and—_

_—she loses it._

Later, Housen explains to her that the men were illegal merchants. 

_“What do they sell?”_

Little girls with pretty faces.

Kagura doesn't quite realize the implications of that but Abuto, standing by her side, wears a bothered glance, so she knows it must be bad.

"He's going to kill you," Abuto tells her later that day. "If you don't start to show your potential."

"Don't you find fighting fun?" He asks her.

"Don't you want to get stronger?"

She comes to like Abuto but in moments as such, he’s everything that she dislikes.

* * *

Kagura is outright glaring at him.

"It's in our blood," he tells her, "so why don't you strive to be the strongest?"

And she blinks before she shakes her head.

The next day she fights back at training and Housen smirks with satisfaction.

Abuto finds her bruised and bleeding in her room.

"Why did you start fighting back now?"

She's holding tears back.

"I don't want to be a Yato."

She's trying to fight _against_ anything Yato, he realizes after a few seconds of thinking about it. Housen is a good example of a strong Yato, everything she wants to reject.

"Because the Yato don't want to be the strongest in the universe."

He wants to tell her that she's not making sense and that maybe Housen hit her head too hard—but then she looks directly at him.

She may be young but there's so much conviction in her eyes that it manages to silence him for a moment.

So, Kagura speaks.

* * *

_"Yato want to be the loneliest in the universe."_

* * *

Housen finds delight in her progress.

Abuto counts the days until he will stumble upon Housen’s corpse.

Kagura understands that she’s going to be unhappy for a long, long time.

* * *

They fight and they fight and they fight.

But what's left at the end?

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing a younger Kagura is really difficult? Her younger self wasn't as brash as her 14-year old self. Of course, she was a brat but she seemed meeker in comparison, I guess? So yeah, Kagura is also very naive. I do think though that naivety is excluding death and violence. She's seen her mother's life wither away and she definitely didn't miss Kamui's progress into madness (although I'm using that word lightly here). 
> 
> So, I tried to convey a shy nature with a dislike for Yato (because Yato ideals ruined her family in her opinion). But also a bit clueless (as seen with pretty faces part). Hmm, I definitely will have to explore her character a bit more in the next Kagura-focused chapter.
> 
> The next chapter will have Kamui's meeting with Otose because Otose is a very interesting character and I'd love to see an interaction between them. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> If you need to contact me, I recently changed my Tumblr handle to @kamuiins!

**Author's Note:**

> As Gintama is my favourite series, I decided to try and write something for it. The lack of Kamui and Kagura being just goofy siblings content also didn't sit well with me.
> 
> I don't generally do update schedules because I don't have my life put together at all, so honestly, when the next update will be is unclear to me as well. 
> 
> I hope this little story might catch someone's interest !
> 
> If you want to chat or something, I'm @silberkrone on Tumblr and @A_A_Viole on Twitter.


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